Exploring stereotypical gender roles through board game art

Abstract

This body of work challenged people‘s perceptions on gender roles and Stereotypes through character illustration and the creation of a board game. It analysed how people‘s gender identity affected roles that they adapted in society and how they were judged because of them. The research methodology focused primarily on questionnaires that determined opinions and beliefs of people from different cultural contexts. Thus, through responses, sets of characteristics and personalities were determined for different characters in the board game. The research determined different ways for characters to be illustrated by using different visuals that conveyed defiance or conformity. This included female characters holding objects such as hammers, men taking care of children and the home; whereas, the characters that conformed to the norm were depicted in stereotypical way, like males as businessmen and females as sexualised game characters. However, the game adapted a humorous mood, through the characters‘ body language and items that balanced the difficult realities that some individuals face every day. Moreover, the work discussed how gender norms are maintained through different media outlets, where some people continue to accept them. Nevertheless, this research used the media of illustration and game design to challenge stereotypes, gender, societal norms and gender roles in a world that is still in the process of eliminating them.